Romeo and Juliet Performance Features Real-Life Wedding

Oscar Diaz and Janelly Mendoza from Laredo, TX, celebrated their marriage on stage after a performance of Romeo and Juliet at the Public Theater’s Delacorte Theater in New York. Actor Francis Jue, who portrays Friar Lawrence in the play, officiated their legal wedding.

The couple has known each other since childhood. They met associate artistic director Saheem Ali in Laredo, where Ali’s Romeo and Juliet production is set along the U.S.-Mexican border, featuring a Latino Romeo’s family and a Juliet’s family supporting the border patrol. Ali visited the border to understand the environment and culture, where Diaz and Mendoza introduced him to a unique ritual of marriage on a bridge, each individual standing in their own country. This inspired Ali to incorporate a real wedding into the play.

Initially, Diaz and Mendoza dismissed the notion of getting married on stage. But Ali reached out again, making the dream a reality. Diaz, visiting New York for the first time, and Mendoza, for the second time, eagerly explored the city before their unique wedding ceremony.

This summer, every performance of Shakespeare in the Park includes a real wedding or vow renewal, totaling 32 events. Jue expressed gratitude for the opportunity to officiate and emphasized the unity experienced in a divisive era. During the ceremony, the audience witnessed the couple, dressed in elegant attire, exchange vows. The event concluded with enthusiastic applause and the couple proudly displaying their rings.

Ali signed as a witness, jokingly ensuring their marriage’s longevity, while Mendoza joyously affirmed the experience exceeded her expectations.